April 1, 2014

It's safe to say that this trip did not just change my life, but changed everyone's who accompanied me. Although we were always doing something awesome like hiking up to waterfalls and swimming holes, eating rice and beans, exploring the ecology and biology of the area, or floating down the Río Pacuare, we all found down time. There was so much room for self improvement and exploration on this trip. This might be apart of why this trip was so special in how we bonded as a group and became more accepting of others.

As we go back to look at the photos, keep in mind; "Don't cry that it's over, smile because it happened."

My favorite photo from trip taken in Montezuma at Sollevante

The first night we stayed in Alajuela, near the capital San Jose.

The second night we stayed on the river where we rafted to. We also went zip-ling which I think that was a highlight for many. That night 7 out of 11 of us slept in 4 hammocks. The water was so soothing at night and it was so fun to be out there in the humid air! The following day we rafted down the rest of the river and headed to Tirimbina.

At Tirimbina we went on night and day hikes. We saw a ton of wildlife here.

We spent the day on a local farm in Río Frio. We got to try some amazing foods and this lunch was by far the best one! The kids were so cute and we got to play with them. I think this day changed most lives in our group. Such a special day!

We took a ferry over to Montezuma, where we will be spending the rest of our trip mostly relaxing.

We stayed at the most amazing place (shown above), each group had their own little house. The beaches and waterfalls were amazing and most of us got burnt! The pool looked out to where the Pacific ocean met the sky. Everyone tried to take full advantage of this area, swimming before breakfast, during the day after our adventure, and after dinner. The sunrises and sunsets were phenomenal, right over the water.

Our last day in Montezuma, we went to a Park, Curu, and got to see even more amazing wildlife!

Our last night in Costa Rica, looking over the Central Valley; this hotel was a highlight. The dinner we had was incomparable to anything we had ever had before.